Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stressed Thursday that Hizbullah and Iran do not want the election of Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun as president, while calling on al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri to back Aoun's nomination in order to “embarrass” Hizbullah.

“General Aoun is less committed to March 8 than (Marada Movement chief) MP Suleiman Franjieh and his stances are flexible, while MP Suleiman Franjieh's stances have been clear until the moment,” said Geagea during an interview on LBCI TV to explain why he has decided to endorse the nomination of Aoun – his long-time Christian rival.

“It was not possible to achieve a certain breakthrough in the presidential issue without endorsing General Aoun's nomination,” he added.

“If Saad Hariri wants to make a heroic act for Lebanon, let him endorse General Aoun's nomination,” Geagea said.

Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and the FPM, Hizbullah and some of their allies have been boycotting the electoral sessions.

Hariri launched late in 2015 a proposal to nominate Franjieh for the presidency but his suggestion was rejected by the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.

Hizbullah and the FPM, as well as Geagea, have argued that Aoun is more eligible than Franjieh to become president given the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.

“It is not my goal to embarrass Hariri over the presidential issue. If Saad Hariri nominates Aoun, he would embarrass Hizbullah and leave it with no other options,” Geagea told LBCI.

Noting that Aoun's election as president would be a “major victory” for him, the LF leader emphasized that If Hizbullah was “serious” about supporting Aoun's nomination, “the General would have been in Baabda today not in Rabieh.”

“Aoun is not attending the sessions because he is negotiating with Hizbullah over a certain issue,” Geagea revealed.

He also underlined that there is no “Saudi veto” against Aoun and that Hariri has stressed in an interview that he “does not have a veto on Aoun.”

Turning to the Tehran's stance, Geagea added: “The Iranian ambassador told Western diplomats to ask the Vatican to convince Aoun to withdraw his nomination so that the presidential election can be held.”

“Hizbullah does not want a serious president because it does not want a strong republic,” Geagea went on to say.

Y.R.

Timeline

07 April 2016, 22:54

Geagea: The Iranian ambassador told Western diplomats to ask the Vatican to convince Aoun to withdraw his nomination so that the presidential election can be held. Hizbullah does not want a serious president because it does not want a strong republic.

07 April 2016, 22:53

Geagea: There is no Saudi veto against General Aoun and Saad Hariri stressed that he does not have a veto on Aoun but said that he does not want to elect him.

07 April 2016, 22:51

Geagea: Aoun is not attending the sessions because he is negotiating with Hizbullah over a certain issue.

07 April 2016, 22:48

Geagea: If Hizbullah was serious about supporting Aoun's nomination, the General would have been in Baabda today not in Rabieh.

07 April 2016, 22:46

Geagea: Aoun's election as president would be a major victory for me.

07 April 2016, 22:45

Geagea: It is not my goal to embarrass Hariri over the presidential issue. If Saad Hariri nominates Aoun, he would embarrass Hizbullah and leave it with no other options.

07 April 2016, 22:44

Geagea: Hizbullah is investing in the FPM and it does not want to lose Aoun. If Hizbullah endorses Franjieh, it will lose its strategic partner.

07 April 2016, 22:43

Geagea: Aoun is communicating with Hizbullah over the presidential issue and if Saad Hariri wants to make a heroic act for Lebanon let him endorse General Aoun's nomination.

07 April 2016, 22:41

Geagea: It was not possible to achieve a certain breakthrough in the presidential issue without endorsing General Aoun's nomination, and Hizbullah was obliged to endorse Aoun's nomination.

07 April 2016, 22:01

Geagea: The reconciliation with the FPM was not a reaction, because it had started with the Declaration of Intent paper. General Aoun is less committed to March 8 than MP Suleiman Franjieh and his stances are flexible, while MP Suleiman Franjieh's stances have been clear until the moment.

07 April 2016, 21:57

Geagea: The FPM-LF reconciliation is one of the most important political acts in my life.

07 April 2016, 21:56

Geagea: If the past was a mistake, we must not repeat it. Everyone was asking us to achieve this reconciliation during the past 10 years. It was a massive popular demand.

07 April 2016, 21:45

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea to LBCI on reconciliation with Aoun: I was expecting some people to congratulate us on rising above everything that we went through in the past.

1anonymetexasusa Netanyahu prefers Assad because he has been allowing weapons to flow to HA, which is the ONLY ENTITY that can DETER or THREATEN Israeli aggression??? If the KSA was not serving Israeli interests they would use the world's third largest military spending (even since 2011 larger than Russia and 4 times larger than Israel) to liberate Palestine, not wage war on the Arab people.

"If Saad Hariri nominates Aoun, he would embarrass Hizbullah and leave it with no other options. Hizbullah is investing in the FPM and it does not want to lose Aoun. If Hizbullah endorses Franjieh, it will lose its strategic partner.".....So what you are saying is for HA, it is more important to support Aoun because he is more important to them than Franjiye, which is why they support Aoun instead of Franjiye, right? Is there an M14 leader that has logic, never mind being sound?

You m14 people are laughable, it is like if your brains are blocked, we are many HA supporters who come to these kind of webcites only to laught together, i think all we have to do to defend ourself is to put any video of sayyed Hassan Nasrallah since the arguments are in them, *Nasrallah for president*

'while calling on al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri to back Aoun's nomination in order to “embarrass” Hizbollah.'

Unfortunately Mr. Geagea you don't build a country and future strategies based on 'embarrassing' someone. Your nomination of Aoun and Hariri's nomination of Franjieh proved that you two are losers and unworthy of leading March 14. You both betrayed the people.

How would Hariri's endorsement of Aoun embarrass Hezbollah? If Hariri endorses Aoun, HA will go to parliament as well and elect Aoun. Exactly what Nassrallah has been saying. He wants unanimity over Aoun. Nassrallah would achieve his objective.

None of these politicians have any principles. A man like Geagea who since his release from jail has sworn to uphold democracy in Lebanon and was hard nose anti iran anti syria spokesman now nominates Aoun. Hariri is not better. These two must answer to the lebanese: how electing aoun or franjieh serves Lebanon's future and its values.